From the Trauma Bay Forward: 33 Years of Nursing with Nancy McGrail

For our second episode, we sit down with Nancy McGrail, the former Director of University Medical Center of El Paso's (UMC) Emergency Department. Nancy was the first nurse to meet traumatic brain injury survivor Jaclyn Pellicotte when she arrived at UMC after her 2018 car accident, creating a connection that brings our story full circle following Episode 1.Nancy talks about what led her into nursing, a path that started with the 1970s television show Emergency!. She shares how that childhood interest grew into a career that took her from Memphis, Tennessee, to El Paso.During the conversation, Nancy reflects on some of the moments that have stayed with her throughout her career, including one of the hardest days she experienced as a leader when the son of a member of her nursing team arrived as a trauma patient. She also discusses the relationships that form in healthcare and how people often cross paths again years later in unexpected ways.Nancy was also leading the Emergency Department during the Walmart mass shooting on August 3, 2019. She shares what that day was like from her perspective and how it has shaped both her career and her life.Throughout her 33 years in nursing, Nancy became known for supporting nurses at every stage of their careers, helping them find the role that was right for them, even when that meant realizing the Emergency Department was not the best fit. After her years in emergency medicine and time spent in UMC's Mother-Baby unit, Nancy now serves as Administrative Director of Service Excellence in UMC's Patient Experience Department.Join us as we continue the story that began in Episode 1 and explore the connections that begin inside a hospital and continue long after patients, families, and caregivers leave the emergency department.